The invention relates generally to ground working equipment, such as agricultural equipment, and more specifically, to a tool bar mounting assembly for an agricultural implement.
Generally, fertilizer application implements are towed behind a tractor or other work vehicle via a hitch assembly secured to a rigid frame of the implement. These fertilizer application implements typically include one or more ground engaging tools or openers that form a path for fertilizer deposition into the soil. The openers are used to break the soil, thereby enabling injection nozzles (e.g., positioned behind the openers) to deposit fertilizer at a desired depth beneath the soil surface. In certain embodiments, the implement may include knives (e.g., positioned behind the openers), instead of the injection nozzles, to flow the liquid fertilizer into respective trenches formed by the openers and the knives. Using such implements, fertilizer may be distributed throughout a field, either before or after planting, to facilitate enhanced crop development.
A fertilizer application implement may include a tool bar assembly having a tool bar. One or more ground engaging tools may be attached to the tool bar at a spacing based on row spacing of crops. In some configurations, the spacing between the ground engaging tools may be fixed, while in other configurations the spacing between the ground engaging tools may be variable. In configurations in which the spacing between the ground engaging tools is variable, it may be time consuming to adjust the ground engaging tool spacing. Furthermore, portions of the tool bar (e.g., structural members, mounts, etc.) may interfere with certain ground engaging tool spacing.
Moreover, in some fertilizer application implements, the tool bar may be welded to a frame of the implement for structural support and/or stability. A current trend for fertilizer application implements, and other implements, is to increase the length of the tool bar to increase the swath of soil covered by the implement. Increasing the length of the tool bar of may facilitate distribution of fertilizer throughout a field at a faster rate. Unfortunately, it may be difficult, time consuming, and/or expensive to increase the length of a tool bar or to change the row spacing of the ground engaging tools attached to the tool bar (e.g., multiple implements of different configurations may be used).